


braced against each other

by Chet_Un_Gwan



Series: Whumptober 2020 [7]
Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Carrying, Concussions, M/M, Support, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:41:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26899105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chet_Un_Gwan/pseuds/Chet_Un_Gwan
Summary: Day seven: I’ve got you. Support/Carrying/Enemy to caretaker
Relationships: Cassander Timaeus Berenice/Ibex
Series: Whumptober 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956517
Kudos: 1





	braced against each other

Ibex woke up with something digging into his gut. It took him a long second to orientate himself, to realize that the strange feeling in his head was blood rush from being partly upside down, the rhythmic jolts that dug into his stomach were steps, and he was in fact draped over Cass’s shoulder.

Ibex blinked in surprise for an uncharacteristic moment. When he thought about it, it made sense that Cassander would not leave him behind, but nonetheless this was not a position he ever anticipated being in. None of their previous interactions had implied that Ibex was someone Cass would go back for. But, Ibex remined himself, Cassander was a practical person as well, and he was the only thing approaching an ally on this planet at the moment.

His eyes vaguely tracked the muddy ground passing in front of him before he realized that he should probably let them know that he was awake. There may, he thought grimly, be some leftover damage from being knocked unconscious.

He tapped Cass’s back, the most reasonable part of their body that he could currently reach. “Ah, Cassander. I can walk myself now.”

The steps stopped, and Ibex winced at the swaying feeling that stayed in his head. “Can you actually walk?” they asked, sounding skeptic.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Ibex asked as Cass let him down slowly, still supporting him by the arm. He tried to shoot them an edged smile, hopefully not letting on how shaky he felt.

Cass gave him a look. “You don’t remember the last time, do you?”

Ibex frowned, not sure what they were talking about.

“You woke up about twenty minutes ago, too, and insisted you could walk then. You took two steps and fell over.”

Oh. Ibex did not remember this at all. He considered lying, and was about to try to play it off when Cass looked hard at his face, and said, “Yeah, you don’t remember. Don’t bother lying, your pupils are different sizes.”

They looked around the area, and for the first time, Ibex noticed that they were far from where he had been knocked out. They appeared to have left the urban city behind entirely, and were now surrounded by overgrown farmland. Cass shifted to take on more of Ibex’s weight. “We’ve gotten pretty far away, we’ll stop here. You definitely should stop passing out.”

Ibex thought about saying that it wasn’t entirely his choice, but Cassander had already started moving them towards a half-knocked down shed, and he had to focus on suppressing the sudden nausea. Throwing up would neither make a good impression, nor be a decent way to thank them for carrying him this far.

Cass eased him down onto the hard-packed ground. He stared off into the distance while they rummaged in their pockets, his thoughts drifting more than he liked. Yes, there was definitely some damage from being knocked out.

Suddenly, Cassander shone a light into his eyes, and Ibex winced. “Hold still,” they said. “I’m just checking.”

Ibex did. They moved it back and forth, and Ibex wished he could remember what symptom, exactly, this was meant to test for. He knew it was a standard for concussions, but he couldn’t remember what to look for with the light. His head swam.

Cass pulled away. “Okay, it’s bad, but no more than I was expecting. We’ll just have to keep you awake for a bit until you’re out of the danger zone.”

They settled in next to him, the small shack putting them shoulder to shoulder. Ibex felt the wood against his back, and Cassander’s body heat along his side. He tilted his head back and sighed. With his head so muddled, he knew that he shouldn’t lean back against them. He knew that. But it just didn’t feel as important any more. He leaned in, and they braced against each other, waiting for the night to be over.

**Author's Note:**

> I only wrote yesterday's prompt now, but in my defense I have actually caught up now.


End file.
